Hip fracture hospital stays down

The latest report from the National Hip Fracture Database (NHFD) has revealed that the length of hospital stay for hip fracture patients has fallen by 5% over the past year.

Although the reduction is small it is nevertheless important, says the report, as it amounts to significant annual savings with the care costs for hip fracture now topping £2 billion a year in the UK.

The findings contained in the fourth NHFD report for 2011/12 are based on almost 60,000 cases from 180 hospitals across the UK.

Latest data shows that the length of inpatient stay fell from 21.2 days in 2011 to 20.2 days in 2012.

With such bed days costed at £242 each, the NHFD report says this represents a saving of around £14.4 million a year.

The NHFD report audits current practice against the six standards set out in the British Orthopaedic Association and British Geriatrics Society Blue Book as well as the criteria set out for the Best Practice Tariff in England.

And it says compliance in all areas is not as good as it should be with admission to orthopaedic care within four hours and on surgery within 48 hours “disappointing,” though discharge on treatment for bone protection and on falls assessment before discharge have all continued to improve.

Figures show that 52% of cases were admitted to an orthopaedic ward within four hours compared to 56% in 2011 and that 83% of hip fracture patients received surgery within 48 hours, which is down from 87%.